A Pagan Place by Edna O'Brien (2004, 240 pages)

My Prior Posts on Edna O'Brien


A Pagan Place by Edna O'Brien is a savagely beautiful novel that seems to me to take us deeply into the contradictory depths of Irish culture.   It speaks to me  from an ancient sensibility I cannot really articulate.   Some say it is kind of a female Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man.  All I can say for that now is maybe.    There is great pain in this story, a pain we cannot really explain but which we can deeply feel.   This is a very Irish novel.   My blogging time will  be limited for the next three weeks so my posts will be shorter than normal.  I will simply say I loved this book.  It is one of the few 21th century books I am aware of which matches some how the beauty, warmth and coldness of the Irish country side.  There is a deep love and perhaps a deeper darker hate for Ireland in this wonderful book.

Quick note, Irish Short Story Week is over.  My interest in Irish literature is becoming stronger with every new great writer and work I discover.   It is permanent and is one of the core focuses of The Reading Life.  

Mel u